


(im)peccable

by LaReineBlanche



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Dick Grayson is a Troll, Gen, Gotham Academy, Male-Female Friendship, Not Traught, Rich Gotham City Residents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:54:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28964235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaReineBlanche/pseuds/LaReineBlanche
Summary: Unlike Gotham North, Artemis's new school has no shady corners for dope dealers or off-color patches on the wall where the janitor painted over crude graffiti.AKA, Artemis's first day of school.
Relationships: Artemis Crock & Dick Grayson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 65





	(im)peccable

The tall facade of Gotham Academy’s clocktower loomed over the courtyard. Students in perfectly tailored uniforms clumped together, leaving no stragglers. Except for her. 

Artemis tugged self-consciously at her pleated skirt. Even though no one was looking at her, she felt watched, studied, examined like an ant under a magnifying glass. She hadn’t felt this nervous since Green Arrow had shown up outside her apartment door. 

“Artemis?” a cheery voice called from behind her. The archer smiled stiffly and wiped her sweaty palms surreptitiously on her skirt. “I’m Bette, your new student liaison. Welcome to Gotham Academy.”

“Thanks,” Artemis said to the other blonde girl. “Um, I’m Artemis—but, er, you already knew that,” she trailed off, mentally facepalming. _This girl is actually talking to you, Artemis_ , she thought. _Stop being such a klutz!_

Someone came up behind Artemis and wrapped their arm around her shoulder. Artemis fought off the urge to elbow them in the stomach and turned to see a small boy with slicked black hair grinning up at her. 

“We’ll laugh about this someday,” the boy said, snapping a selfie of the two of them before Artemis could protest. The flash blinded her momentarily, but as she turned to yell at the kid, he was nowhere to be found. 

Artemis frowned. “Who was that?” 

“A freshman. Ignore him,” Bette huffed beside her and curled her lip. “Follow me, I’ll take you to the office to get your schedule.”

The inside of the school was just as clean and polished as the student who attended. Shining white tiles floated across the floor, and spotlights shined on glass cases filled with trophies for every competition imaginable. Unlike Gotham North, this school had no shady corners for dope dealers or off-color patches on the wall where the janitor painted over crude graffiti. As Artemis trailed behind Bette, her _student liaison_ pointed out landmarks in the school. “Over there is the cafeteria. Head down that hallway to get to the library. The auditorium is on the far end of this hall, but don’t head over there unless you want to get accosted by the theater geeks.”

Pushing open a glass door, Bette greeted the receptionist, “Hey, Mrs. R, this is Artemis Crock.”

“Ah, you’re a junior, yes?” The receptionist, with her strict bun, pointy heels, apple green pantsuit, smiled gently in a way that made her severe appearance soften. Artemis confirmed with a nod, and Mrs. R rummaged through a tall file cabinet. Bette leaned towards Artemis, whispering in her ear: “Mrs. R is the best. If you can get on her good side, she’ll let you leave campus for lunch or get out early without parental permission.”

Artemis smiled, genuinely this time. _I might be starting to like this school._

* * *

_This school is horrible_ , Artemis thought. Only five minutes into her calc class and she was already regretting her decision to transfer. Her teacher was a mountain of a man and had at least five inches on Superman. He stooped to write five numbers on the whiteboard: 27, 35, 42, 59, and 64. 

“What do you think these are, class?” Artemis felt small. The teacher spoke before anyone could answer his question. “These are some test scores you can expect to get in my class. You are not in kiddie math anymore; you will need to work harder than you have ever worked in your life to get a C in this course.” With each word, he slammed a textbook on each occupied desk.

When the bell rang for lunch hour, Artemis rested her head on the desk and resisted the urge to cry. A bony finger poked into her shoulder and Artemis glanced behind her into glacial blue eyes. At second glance, she recognized the face as the weird freshman who took her picture earlier. 

She opened her mouth to berate him, but he was already speaking. “I wouldn’t worry too much. I heard he does this to every class, so they don’t slack off. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a hard course, but I promise it isn’t as dire as it seems.”

“Urg, but I’m horrible at math. And, I can’t fail a class.”

“Don’t worry too much about losing your scholarship,” the boy said, gathering her strewn books into a stack for her. 

“But the terms say that I—” Artemis paused as she slung her backpack over one shoulder. “Wait. How did you know I was here on scholarship?”

Blue eyes blinked slowly at her. “Your tie. It’s is loose and only knotted with a half-Windsor.” Artemis gaped and spluttered a bit before a sharp grin formed on the boy’s face. “Kidding, I’m Dick Grayson. Lovely to meet you, Miss Crock.”

 _Oh._ She had the Wayne Scholarship, and Grayson was Bruce Wayne’s son or ward or whatever. She felt stupid for not recognizing him, as much as he was in the press.

They walked side-by-side towards the cafeteria in silence. 

They were some of the last students in there due to Artemis’s meltdown in the classroom. The archer surveyed the full room, finding Bette’s blonde hair across the room. _Would it be weird if I sat with her?_ thought Artemis. She was saved the trouble of answering that question as a pretty brunette took the last open seat beside Bette. Rubbing her arms, Artemis started to feel really awkward standing in the doorway.

She felt a familiar poke in the shoulder. Grayson rolled his eyes. “Come on, Crock, you can sit with us.”

He led her to a table occupied by a redheaded girl. Grayson plopped down beside the girl and stole her bag of chips. Artemis warily sat across from Grayson, and the other girl frowned.

“Dick,” she said slowly. “Who’s this?”

The boy chewed a mouthful of food and swallowed. “Babs, this is Artemis Crock. Crock, this is Barbara Gordon.”

“And why, pray tell,” she continued in the same withering tone, “were you harassing her this morning?” Grayson shrugged, and Barbara sighed, turning to Artemis. “I’ve known this doofus since he was nine, and he hasn’t gotten any less weird. Just ignore him.”

“You know,” Artemis replied with a faint smile, “you are the second person to tell me that today, and it seems like great advice.”

Grayson squawked.

* * *

“Mom, I’m home!”

Paula Crock wheeled into Artemis’s view with a smile on her face. “And how was your first day, Artemis?”

Artemis slung her backpack to the floor and shrugged off her blazer. As she loosened her striped tie, she said, “It wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

**Author's Note:**

> This may become a series of semi-interconnected one-shots about Artemis and Dick and Gotham Academy shenanigans. Feel free to send me suggestions about other one-shots. (No promises on actually fulfilling them since I'd be writing these in free-time that I don't actually have.) Hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Sincerely,  
> Blanche


End file.
